Ms Mukerji is now officially Mrs Chopra

Rani Mukerji’s secret wedding to longtime filmmaker boyfriend Aditya Chopra came as a surprise to fans and friends who expected it to be a grand affair. However, the couple surprised everyone by getting hitched far away in Italy. While everyone was wondering if Ms Mukerji will change her surname, here’s her devar Uday Chopra clearing the air. Chopra Jr took to Twitter to congratulate his bhabhi and bhaiyya. He wrote, “We welcome Rani Chopra to the family…lots of love to the newly weds.”

So, officially now we can refer to Rani as Mrs Aditya Chopra, hai na? Will her film credits also reflect the change in her marital status? We’ll have to wait and watch when Mardaani releases or then wait for the new Chopra bahu to make an official statement.

Rani isn’t the only heroine to have changed her name post marriage. Other like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Genelia Deshmukh too took their hubby’s surname. Will Rani become just Rani Chopra or will she retain Mukerji in her surname is yet to be seen. For now hearty congratulations to this light eyed bong beauty. We wish her a happy married life!

That is what we wondered when we heard all about his new TV show, Saraswatichandra. Or perhaps when we read about a new project with Rani Mukerji…

Remember how, whenever you hear of Sanjay Leela Bhansali getting set for a new project, you just know it is going to be large-scale, opulent and very opera-ish? Yeah, we mean opera, not the soapy kind, but the sort you see on a big stage with people singing open-throatedly, striking dramatic attitudes and declaiming love, war and everything in between. We know, you know that SLB has worked on this kind of production already in Paris, France, and we have seen the same sort of values in every one of his films. A vast canvas, sweeping emotions, gorgeous expanses and more – that is what a Bhansali movie is about, whether it is Khamoshi, Black, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Saawariya or Guzaarish. The music is divine, the sets are fabulous, the costumes are gorgeous and the actors are made even more beautiful. Along the way, if it all smells a little too ripe…well, that is the SLB ethos, no?

We see it again now with his TV serial, to start February 25, Saraswatichandra. The premiere was yesterday, on the Internet, and we captured it for you then. But now, as we see more promos, read more and experience more of the Bhansali magic, we have to wonder – does this OTT stuff work now? It didn’t many times before, so what guarantees does he give this time? And this is the small screen, so doesn’t that kinda squish enormity into a tiny canvas? Just a thought….

And along the way, when we heard that SLB and Rani Mukerji may be doing a film together, our horns sparked. Frankly, Rani needs to grab some headlines for the right reasons – not for her last name, as given her by Shatrughan Sinha, who insists even now that she is Rani Chopra, but for her acting, which we all know can be superb. Too many of her films have been duds at the BO and with critics over the past few years, and an occasional No One Killed Jessica or Talaash does not make up for the others (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Dil Bole Hadippa and Aiyyaa being top of our list of clunkers) that pulled her into near-retirement. And Rani and Bhansali did hit big time with Black, so maybe they can do it again? We sure can’t wait to find out!

Shotgun Sinha says he made no mistake for referring to Rani Mukerji as Rani Chopra

Shatrughan Sinha is Shatrughan Sinha! The veteran actor has made it very clear that he will not apologise for his slip of tongue at the unveiling of Yash Chopra’s statue at Yash Raj studios when he referred to Rani Mukerji as Rani Chopra.

The yesteryear actor is undeterred by the brouhaha he unintentionally created because he feels that the Chopra surname he used with Rani’s name was no mistake. “I only stated the truth. Either you should not ask me to speak in public. If you do, you better be prepared for some frankspeak,” said the 68-year-old actor while talking to a newspaper.

“I was asked to speak on Yash Chopra. While I was mentioning the family members my wife reminded me that I had forgot to mention Aditya Chopra. To this I replied that I have mentioned Rani Chopra and that is as good as mentioning Aditya Chopra too. I see no harm in this. I didn’t think it would become such an issue.”

Hmm… now Sinha saab we like your honesty but if you say that it has become an issue then why not apologise? Will you be cool if someone refers to your dearest daughter Sonakshi Sinha as Sonakshi Khan or Sonakshi Singh on a public platform, even if it was true? Guess not!

The studio released an urgent official statement explaining that Shatrughan Sinha’s slip of the tongue at the unveiling of Yash Chopra’s statue was just that…a mistake

Just hours after the blunder a statement issued by YRF stated that the whole thing was just a mistake and nothing more. “While paying his respects to the memory of Mr Yash Chopra during the unveiling of the statue, he (Shatrughan Sinha) inadvertently made a comment which was completely unintended and a slip of the tongue. We should request you to treat it as such. There is nothing more to it,” said the release.

We know that it was a slip of the tongue by the veteran actor. But what we don’t understand is why, when Shatrughan was prompted by his wife that he missed out on mentioning Aditya Chopra’s name in the list of Yash Chopra’s family members, the Shotgun replied, “…Rani Chopra ka naam liye hai toh zahir se baat hai Aditya Chopra ka naam leta…” (When I have said Rani Chopra’s name, it is only obvious that Aditya Chopra’s name too is implied…)

So we wonder: was this really a slip of the tongue? After all, what Shatrughan seemed to say was that it doesn’t matter that he forgot to add Aditya Chopra’s name to his list, ‘coz he had already named Rani. Wink wink!